Why Recycled Smart?

The concept of recycledsmart came about when I started to think about cycling to work for part of my journey back in 2013. I’d been in a minor car accident at the end of 2012 which resulted in my original Smart ForTwo being written off and decided not to replace it as I had access to other vehicles when required.

I started researching different folding options and was constantly drawn back to the elegance of the Brompton fold as well as the fact that it was manufactured locally. I ended up spending the summer of 2013 renting a Brompton from South West Trains and loved every minute on the bike but although this is an excellent scheme decided that ultimately I wanted to invest in my own bike and spec the options myself.

Visiting the Brompton website I built my dream machine and decided on the M6R-X (for those not familiar with Brompton short hand, the M is the standard handlebar option with 6 gears and a rear luggage rack, the X is a special Extra Light option boasting Titanium forks and rear triangle).

Many will suggest that a bike configured for commuting and touring doesn’t warrant the extravagance of the Titanium package as any gain is offset by the additional weight of other options rather than a completely minimalist sporty approach, however whilst not impractical try carrying a fully loaded Brompton or any other folding bike of similar weight any distance and you’ll soon realise that any reduction in weight is very welcome indeed.

Once I saw the mockup of my bike online I instantly recognised the blue and silver of my Smart car now reduced in scale to my recycledsmart. Unfortunately this is where my dream bike had to stay for the next 18 months but as things fell into place financially Brompton released some new colours for the 2015 line up and Tempest Blue was exactly what I was waiting for.

Deposit paid I turned my attention to handlebar ends, GPS and sensors. For those who don’t know me, I work in IT and am a technologist at heart. Originally I was planning on going with the typical Garmin Edge 810 or 1000 GPS as I loved the cycle mount. I’m a Windows man and didn’t at the time own an iPhone, that was until I found a way to accidentally destroy my Lumia 1020 (told you I was a geek).

Rather than get a new phone and separate GPS, lets face it the GPS would have ended up quickly falling to the bottom of the bag to be dug out for proper rides but not so much the daily commute. How long until I scratch the screen anyway? I decided that an iPhone paired with bluetooth sensors was the best solution, especially since discovering the Quadlock system of mobile phone mounts.

Over the coming months I plan to post my experiences with the bike and equipment, as well as maps taken from the GPS and photos taken on the journey. Hopefully at least one trip per month on top of the daily commute and there will be a record of overall distance traveled for the year listed on the home page.